Forcing chemo on girl will incite ‘wrath': expert

Question:: There's a traditional Ojibwa treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia,,,that includes Jesus?

And before anyone jumps, I am well aware that many First Nation peoples have been victims of missionaries for centuries (and generations of kids removed to boarding schools for indoctrination and abuse). Because of that abuse, many First Nation peoples are Christians today and quite a number of them combine Christian and indigenous spiritual practices.

It is blatantly obvious that the parents have followed this path, "Makayla Sault, daughter of Pastors Ken and Sonya Sault has taken a very brave and bold move to assert herself,,,."

That aside, back to my question(s) that this case inspires. Questions that I ask in all seriousness and hope in due course are answered.

Makayla speaks eloquently and passionately about her wishes in a YouTube video,,,She also describes a vision of Jesus Christ she experienced in her hospital room. "I asked him, 'can you heal me?' and he said I was already healed," she says.

[,,,]
Martin-Hill stresses the issue is indigenous rights not religion.

"According to the United Nations declaration on indigenous rights, they do have the right to seek traditional medicine. It's a protected right for indigenous people worldwide."

I'm sorry but I disagree with Martin-Hill and think she is being a bit hyperbolic. Since both of Makayla's parents are ministers and she's seeing Jesus, it appears the basis of the objections aren't, culturally, of first nations healing traditions but religious ones

Question 2::Dawn Martin-Hill, do you know what special pleading is? And would you care to elaborate, "[w]e don't need to prove to the world that the medicine works. We know it works. The evidence base is in the community."

However, Martin-Hill points out that Makayla will be treated with traditional approaches including nurturing her psychologically to get her fighting spirit back, feeding her a healthy diet to repair the damage done by chemotherapy and giving her herbs chosen specifically for her cancer.

Martin-Hill is one of two researchers funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to study indigenous medicine.

"We will never ever have enough studies done to prove anything to the medical establishment," she said.

"We don't need to prove to the world that the medicine works. We know it works. The evidence base is in the community."

Question 3:: Are Makayla medical needs trumped by cultural sensitivity? In other words, should her case be "treated" differently than a non-native person?

We all know whether in the US or Canada that native tribes have been fucked over, and it continues to this day. It is something that needs correcting BUT if indigenous autonomy means letting a child die I'd have to say I am against that; it creates a conundrum. A giant clusterfuck while at the same time increasing mistrust between the two sides in this incident.

This I'm afraid is is the slippery slope of religion. It begins with "my" freedom to believe what I want but then it extends to "my" right to teach my children what I want, and even to subject them to whatever medical treatment I deem appropriate. In the end though there is one fact that remains, cancer doesn't care who it kills, but it does kill,


Forcing chemo on girl will incite ‘wrath': expert